Description

"The forest really looks beautiful, serene even." A man takes his arm from its resting place on top his turret to adjust the rifle on his back and continues, "From up here anyways." The voices of the other two people on board fade as his does. His eyes remain on the canopy and the faint, red glow moving like water and light among the trees below.

Trained from childhood to think and act as one, the members of Ring H174A pilot their patrol craft over the planet Aura. Its engines silently radiate energy. Straight ahead, the sunlight is scattered by the shield barrier that surrounds their home city, and the fist buildings slip into view.

Suddenly, the forest glows bright green. The two gunners cling to their weapons as the craft veers sharply to the left, but there is nothing to avoid. Six eyes, wide open, look in three different directions. For an instant they hang, suspended.

"There." The hollow snap of a plasma turret breaks the silence, and the forest explodes with beams of light.

The craft's engines shine blindingly as they accelerate towards the city. Men scramble through the trees firing beams upward from their outstretched arms. "There's hundreds!" One of the gunners frantically sweeps his weapon back and forth. He shouts, "We have to get out of here!" as he shields his eyes from the light from the engines and the forest. The engines shine blindingly. The pilot activates his communicator "Attention, the Halation are here, this is... ". An energy blast rocks the body of the craft, and the light from the engine fades.

"Shit." The pilot drops the lifeless microphone, leaps from his chair, and runs toward the back of the craft. As he passes the weapon racks, one of the gunners finishes equipping a tether round and tosses him an active spawn. He catches it and jumps out the rear cargo door.

From the weapon racks, the gunner fires his tether into the canopy below pilot, before fastening the other end to the craft. The pilot grabs hold of the line, but it hangs loose and barely slows him down. The gunner opens his mouth to speak when a box marked 'Radial Grenades' slides past him out the opening, he turns to face his remaining partner.

"Too much slack?"

An explosion outside the craft causes it to reel forward. The tether snaps taught against the floor.

Two soldiers take a low stance to steady themselves on the plummeting craft, ready their their rifles and wait. A second passes. The man on the left looks up at his partner, who raises his eyebrows as he brings his left hand to the darkened button on front of his armor. The other smiles and does the same. The craft hits the branches as the buttons illuminate, and in the next instant the three of them are standing on the forest floor, the pilot now picking up the active spawn.

A rustling in the trees draws their attention and aim. An enraged, crimson beast with open jaws and claws extended leaps at them but is greeted midair by several rounds from the soldiers rifles. It's body hits the ground and disappears.